Stock Market Update

Equity futures point to a firmly lower open this morning as semiconductor stocks face an extension of their recent weakness, while the broader market begins to slip.

The major averages finished lower in yesterday's session as pronounced weakness across mega-cap tech stocks outweighed a solid showing from the broader market that saw the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index close higher.

The U.S. continues to strike Iran, with the ramp in tensions sending WTI crude oil firmly higher, above the $80 per barrel mark.

The major averages enter today's session lower for the week, with the Nasdaq facing the widest loss as the global chip selloff continues.

In corporate news:

• Meta (META 654.00, -10.54, -1.6%) will hire Amazon (AMZN 246.36, -3.53, -1.3%) executive Dave Brown in the coming weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• Netflix (NFLX 66.18, -8.13, -10.9%) beat EPS expectations by $0.01, reported revenues in-line, guided Q3 EPS and revenues below consensus, and narrowed FY26 revenue guidance.
• SpaceX (SPCX 125.41, -5.66, -4.3%) postponed a rocket launch due to an engine failure.
• Travelers (TRV 342.00, +4.18, +1.2%) beat EPS expectations by $4.68 and beat revenue expectations.

Reviewing overnight developments:

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mostly lower note with Japan's Nikkei (-4.0%) falling to its lowest level since early June while South Korea's Kospi was closed for a holiday. Japan's Nikkei: -4.0%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -1.8%, China's Shanghai Composite: -3.1%, India's Sensex: +1.3%, South Korea's Kospi: CLOSED, Australia's ASX All Ordinaries: -0.6%.

In news:

• Korea Financial Services Commission banned the issuance of single-stock leveraged products.
• There were growing concerns about China's cheaper AI technology flooding the Western market.
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co reported record results for Q2.

In economic data:

• Hong Kong's June Unemployment Rate 3.7% (last 3.7%)
• New Zealand's June FPI 0.6% m/m (last 1.0%)
• Singapore's June trade surplus SGD13.817 bln (last surplus of SGD5.556 bln). June non-oil exports -8.9% (last 7.7%); 20.7% yr/yr (expected 30.2%; last 38.4%)

Major European indices trade in the red while Spain's IBEX (+0.1%) outperforms slightly with help from some countercyclical names. STOXX Europe 600: -0.5%, Germany's DAX: -0.5%, U.K.'s FTSE 100: -0.2%, France's CAC 40: -0.8%, Italy's FTSE MIB: -0.9%, Spain's IBEX 35: +0.1%.

In news:

• Andy Burnham takes leadership of the British Labour party today and is set to become prime minister on Monday.
• The IMF has reportedly warned Mr. Burnham that there is little room for increasing public spending.
• Germany's Commerzbank is reportedly preparing its demands ahead of likely merger talks with UniCredit.

In economic data:

• Eurozone's June CPI -0.1% m/m, as expected (last 0.1%); 2.8% yr/yr, as expected (last 3.2%). June Core CPI 0.2% m/m, as expected (last 0.2%); 2.4% yr/yr, as expected (last 2.6%). May Current Account surplus EUR25.1 bln (expected surplus of EUR18.1 bln; last surplus of EUR15.7 bln)